Dispensing device for packaged merchandise



Dec. 18, 1956 J. MICHIEL 2,774,467

DISPENSING DEVICE FOR PACKAGED MERCHANDISE Original Filed Oct. 24, 1950 F 4; 4L) ii? 37 .37 v INVENTOR. Fig; Josavu MICH/EL United States PatentO D SRENSING FDR: BAGKAGED lVlERGHANDISE Joseph lvlichielyLong-Beach, N. Y. flnb tit t -fo andened appli at on Serial-;N o.-; i 3, Oct e 4,. 9 hi pplic n Aug 11 6.,

No. L 603,177

1 Claim. ((315206-4412) This inventionrelates to a d-ispensingbox or tray for "merchandise packaged in containers and this application is a substitute for abandoned application Serial No. 191 863,"Jiled- October24, 1950.

It is an object of't'he instant invention-to "providean inexpensive dispensing tray or box for the display of packaged merchandise on store shelves or counters.

Another object is toaid in the marketing of packaged goods without materially increasing the costs of distribution.

Afurther object isfto provide trays orboxesrequiring verylittle storage space when collapsed and inexpensive enough to be disposable whenworn.

Other objects of the instant invention will become apparent in the course of the following specification.

In the attainment of these objectives, the dispensing tray is designed for mass production from a roll of flexible material such as cardboard. Rectangular blanks are cut from the material and scored and cut in such a manner that the sides and back of the tray may be turned upwardly around a bottom member while a front member also turned upwardly on the bottom member serves as a front stop for the containers arranged in rows in the tray. By making the side and back members substantially lower than the containers and the front member, an elastic member under tension around the innermost containers and attached to opposite sides of the front member maintains the latter upright and the containers under tension toward the front member so that as soon as one of the outermost containers is removed from the tray, another will move forwardly to take the place thereof.

The invention will appear more clearly fromthe follow ing detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment of the inventive concept.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the dispensing tray constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view along 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view of the blank from which the tray shown in Figure l is formed;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the support for the innermost containers shown in the tray of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a plan View of the elastic member maintaining the containers in the tray of Figure 1 under forwardly directed tension; and

Figure 6 is a side view of the elastic member shown in Figure 5.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings where like reference numerals indicate like parts, reference numeral 10 indicates the merchandise containers, and 11 the dispensing tray.

The merchandise containers 10 may be of any known material and of any shape or size but perferably of uniform shape and size.

The dispensing tray 11 shown in Figure 1 is formed from the blank 12 shown in Figure 3 and may be card- P 2,774,467 Ice Rammed Dec. 18, 1956 board cut into rectangular blanks from a continuous roll ,of the material. The-blank 12is scoredbetween the 'pDints17-18,"19-2015-16, and 13-14. The'bl-ank side member 29 together withthe previously turned and integrally formed corner segment 27 and integrally formed corner member 25 is then turned upwardly along the scored line '17-18 whilethe side member 30 is similarly turned,'the angle made by the turned side member being around 790 to the plane of the blank or bottom member 39. The back member 31' is also turned upwardly along the scored line';1820 and at to the plane of the'bottom member. The corner members 25 and'26 integrally formed with the corresponding side members at the back arefbent along the scored lines 13-18 and 20-14, respectively, to be superposed over the adjacent outersur- 'face of'the back member31 and the previously mentioned ears of the corner members inserted in the slits formed in the-back member as shown in Figure l. The front corner members 27 and '28, previously turned relative t the side members, willbe perpendicular to the plane of. the bottom 'mem-ber'39 with the turning of the sidemem-bersand are attached together to form a two-piece front member by the coacting slits 43-44 and 45-46. The one-piece front member 32 is also turned upwardly along the scored line 17-19 forwardly of the tw0-piece front member to complete the tray. As illustrated, the side and back and twopiece front members have substantially the same uniform height with the height of the one-piece front member greater than the height of the other members but less than the height of the containers.

Superposed on the outer surface of the one-piece front member 32 is the decorative member 33 which is separately formed and atlixed to the outer surface of that front member in any known manner. The decorative member 33 may have a cut out portion 34 formed as desired and which may be symbolic of the packaged merchandise. Openings 35 and 36 (Figs. 1 and 2) are made in the side edges of the decorative member 33 for the removable attachment of the ends of the later described elastic member 37.

Longitudinally slidable in the dispensing tray 11 is the back support 38 which may also be made from any snitably flexible material, the back support being scored along the spaced longitudinal lines 4-0 and 42 in order that the marginal edges may be turned around the ends of the containers as illustrated. The support 38 extends upwardly to a point below the tops of the containers as further illustrated.

Maintaining the support 38 upright against the backs of the innermost containers and the support and containers under tension toward the front members is the rectangular elastic member 37 having a length sufficient to be stretched from one side of the decorative or onepiece front member 33 rearwardly around the support 38 and thence forwardly to the opposite side of the decorative member. Each end of the elastic member 37 is inserted through a slit 41 formed in a flexible retaining member 47. The coacting edges of the slit may be serrated but in any event when the retaining members 47 are inserted in the openings 35 and 36 (Fig. 1), the elastic member will be squeezed between each side of the retaining member and the corresponding side of the opening while the slit will be forced to the closed position further gripping the elastic member to provide suit able anchors at the ends thereof. Of course, the one- :piece front member-or the two-piece member onthe two together: must have suificient rigidity-to prevent bending under the force of the elastic member, the force of the elastic member must be sufficient to close any gap left by the removal of'any' containr i the row or in maintaining all of the containersunder tension against the front member when any container is removed. I

In operation: V t V t After the dispensing tray 11 has been formed from .the blank 12 in the manner previously described, the ,merchandise containers are inserted onthe tray in parallel rows as shown in Figure. 1, and the combined onepiece front member 32 and decorative member 33 turned upwardly against the fronts of the outermost containers 1 except for the intervening two-piece front member. The

support 38 is placed upright in the tray against the backs -of the in'nermo'stcontainers with the marginal edges of the support turned along the scored lines :40 and 42 around the sides of the containers as shown in Figure 1. Each end of the rectangular elastic member 37 is then .ins'erted'thrOugh the slit 41 of the flexible retainer 47 one of which is in turn inserted in either of the openings 35 or 36 and the band under tension, passed around the back of the support 38 with the free end of the elastic member fastened in the remaining opening, either 35 or 36 as the 'case' may be.

chaser lifting one of the foremost containers upwardly out of the'tray will cause all the containers in that row to move forwardly by the action of the elastic member 37 to fill the unoccupied space. 7

With the tray filled and out- ,wardly directed on a store shelf or counter, the pur- It will be understood that the invention is I to the'exact disclosure herein described but may lend itself to a variety of expressions within the scope of the appended claim.

Wherefore, I claim:

A dispensing tray in combination with containers for merchandise, the tray comprising a substantially rigid bottom memberto accommodate the containers arranged upright in at least one row; the tray further comprising side members in opposed relationship and a back memher, said members being'integrally formed with the bot- --tom member-and in planes substantially perpendicular thereto, a two-piece front member'tintegrally'formed with the side members and in opposed relationship'with the back member, said side and back and two-piece front member being substantially of the same uniform height, means for securing together the corresponding ends of the side and back members and the corresponding ends of the two-piece front member; the tray further comprising a one-piecefront meinber integrally formed with the bottom member and in juxtaposition with the outer face of the two-piece front member, the one-piecefront member having a height less than the height of the containers and greater than the height of the other members, decorative member superposed on the outer sur-' face of said one-piece frontmember, said decorative not limited 

